Gena Rowlands was 47 when she made Opening Night, the seventh of the 10 films she made with husband/director John Cassavetes. Her age was key, as she plays an actress whose mental state collapses as she faces being typecast as an Older Actress. It’s occasionally been mislabeled as a horror film, in the same way that Cries and Whispers is – the extremity of the human condition is just too much for some people to bear. Selected by Charli XCX as part of Alamo’s Guest Selects for her new film, The Moment. – Richard Whittaker
